Excellent article regarding vaccines

I read an excellent article in Parade Magazine this morning that I wanted to share. I think it's a great resource for FTMs or even BTDT moms who have lingering questions about vaccine safety.

I want to add that I'm a semi-crunchy mom and I will admit that I have had fears in the past regarding certain vaccines. I understand why people are concerned and why this topic provokes a lot of intense discussion. We can never be too careful when it comes to our kids. However, after blindly doing whatever doctors told me to do when I had my first child 14 years ago, I decided that things were going to be different this time. This time I have been reading everything I can get my hands on from vaccines to carseats to breastfeeding. Before I even got pregnant I was entertaining a delayed vaccine schedule and even thinking about skipping certain vaccines altogether. I'm still somewhat hesitant to get a flu shot. Not because I doubt it's safety, but more because I have never had the flu - even when traveling to other countries. But after months of research I have decided that I will be vaccinating my baby and will be getting the pertussis vaccine for myself. My husband and immediate family members will be getting it as well.

This article pretty much sealed the deal for me. Believe me, I have read plenty of anti-vaccine articles. I am well rehearsed on both sides. Knowing only one side of ANY issue, is pretty much like not knowing the issue at all.

Anyway, here it is. I know that this will inevitably cause some drama and I apologize for that in advance. I just thought the article was too good to not share. Thanks for understanding.

We vax on the recommended schedule for our state. We live in a tourist community that has people from all over the US and the world that come to visit our town. Dh works with many of these tourists so we feel the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks for our family.

If we didn't live in a high tourist area and Dh didn't have the type of job that he does, we would still vaccinate but on a more delayed schedule.

Right now, ds is battling mild case of chicken pox. Unfortunately, he was exposed a few days prior to getting his first varicella vaccine. I do think the dose of the vaccine has helped lessen his symptoms though so I am thankful for that.

This article does an excellent job of explaining the recent history of American ambivalence about vaccinations and highlighting the medical research in support of vaccinations.

My husband and I are looking forward to getting our flu vaccinations, and I will be ensuring that my baby and other relatives are properly immunized against pertussis and other diseases to support our baby's continued health.

I live in WA State. It is scary the number of parents that don't do the pertussis vaccine and put the rest of us at risk. I cringe when people site the article by the Dr in England. I know intelligent people who feel so strongly against vaccines and I just don't understand how they consider that one article and Internet forums to be all the proof they need. It's baffling. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for the article! Ultimately we will vax, I have family we visit everywhere from Ireland to Saudi Arabia and countries in between... and even though our travel schedule will be a lot lighter (I have no plans to take the babies to Saudi Arabia, DF refuses to ever go), ultimately we feel it's best for our family. However this doesn't mean I have to blindly follow the doctor either! Research is extremely valuable.

Absolutely! That was why I posted this. I have done just as much research on the other side, as I have done on the pro-vaccine side. My only fear is that many people can't differentiate between legitimate scientific research and propaganda.

KEHD+2 - Even my anti-vaccine friends now realize that the autism link has been disproven. It scares me that there are still people out there who believe it to be true. :(